What does "tetanic" mean?

Tetanic: (Physiol. & Med.) Producing, or tending to produce, tetanus, or tonic contraction of the muscles; as, a tetanic remedy. See Tetanic, n.

Additional senses

  1. 2.A substance (notably nux vomica, strychnine, and brucine) which, either as a remedy or a poison, acts primarily on the spinal cord, and which, when taken in comparatively large quantity, produces tetanic spasms or convulsions.

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